"Proud to call myself a rural woman": 24-year-old CEO and farmer Marlee Langfield reflects on her role as a third generation farmer, active community member and rural advocate

By Alexandra Brown (Student Project Intern, Invisible Farmer Project, Museums Victoria) with Marlee Langfield (CEO and Farmer, Wallaringa, Cowra, NSW).

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This blog post is based on an interview that was conducted in 2018 between curator Catherine Forge (Museums Victoria) and broadacre farmer Marlee Langfield for the Invisible Farmer Project.

Industry: Broadacre Farming, Mixed Cropping, Grains

Location: Wallaringa, Cowra, New South Wales

Marlee Langfield out in the paddock at Wallaringa, NSW. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria [MM149601: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2389761].

Marlee’s Story

“It runs in the blood, it really does. My father was a man of the land, whose courage, strength and determination was an inspiration to all – and I definitely hear a lot that I am my father’s daughter.”

Marlee Langfield lost her father to Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma when she was thirteen years old. Farmer Thomas Langfield was a fundamental role model for his daughter Marlee, who watched and actively helped her father work the land on their family farm “Wallaringa”, outside of Cowra, New South Wales, throughout her early years.

“I would help dad at every opportunity: spending time in the workshop, whizzing around on my little Honda XR 50 motorbike. So that was all great fun.”

Not only did Marlee’s father pass on his love of the land, but he also gave his daughter the gift of the land itself - in Thomas’ will, he left Wallaringa to Marlee. Perhaps uncommonly for a young woman, Marlee became set to inherit the very farm where she had grown up, on her twenty-third birthday, ten years down the track.

Now twenty-four, Marlee is one of Australia’s youngest CEOs and farmers, having officially taken on Wallaringa last year. She has fond memories of her childhood as an active farmhand, involved in life both inside the home and outside on the land. Those years spent dashing around on her motorbike, delivering hot and cold meals her mother had made to her father out in the paddock, and actively working in the sheep yards and shearing shed have imparted Marlee with a resilience that has endured into her adult life, proving immensely useful in the often demanding business of farming:

“[There was] lots of freedom and exposure to practical knowledge. You are exposed to anything and everything that really a lot of children these days… unfortunately aren’t. So you are exposed to death, animals that pass away, tough times when it doesn’t rain and the effects, and the other end of the scale when it does rain and you get bogged and you have to go and pull machinery out of a great big mess.”

Marlee is part of the third generation to farm Wallaringa after the family purchased the property in the 1930s, however the Langfields have been cultivating the land around Cowra for longer still, over five generations. Traces of their family heritage can be found in the treasure trove of carefully preserved snippets of history kept at the Wallaringa family home; newspaper clippings, well-worn handwritten recipes and old photographs make up a family trail of generations past. Even the road that leads to the farm is named ‘Langfield Road’, a testament to the legacy that ties the family to the local land.

Part of a family history scrapbook project compiled by Marlee, showing a newspaper cutting featuring previous generations of Langfields in the 1940s. Photograph: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

The sign for Langfield Road, which leads to Wallaringa Farm. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Despite this long lineage, Marlee found herself under no pressure from her family to inherit the farm if she decided to follow another path. Being so young at the time of her father’s death, Marlee’s cousin and his family cared for the farm until she came of age. During this interim, she had the opportunity to move with her mother and her sister’s family to Canada. She lived there for a year, and was able experience another education system and expand her farming knowledge by witnessing the differences in agriculture across the pacific:

“Being so close to the province of Saskatchewan and Alberta Prairies we were able to travel around there quite a bit and admire the farming landscape. It’s so different over there. It is very flat and very much broad acre. It was quite an opportunity to be able to be watching another country farm and see how their crops grow!”

Marlee out in the paddock at Wallaringa. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria [MM149596, https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2389689].

One of the paddocks out at Wallaringa. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Having this time and space during her teenage years and into adulthood proved to be invaluable, as Marlee stresses that it allowed her to grow as both a farmer and an individual:

“I really appreciate the care my family took of the farm while I grew up, travelled, completed school and explored a lot that life had to offer inside and outside the farm gate… If that time period had of been less, I wouldn’t have been able to live life as much as I have, or have taken the opportunities that I’ve been able to take.”

Marlee Langfield. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Marlee at the wheel. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

So when Marlee’s twenty-third birthday came around in the April of 2018, the decision to take on the farm was hers alone to make. Fortunately, it was also a decision that came easily – Marlee’s love of the land and connection to Wallaringa which was nurtured in those early days meant it was clear to her that taking on the farm was the right choice to make:

“I don’t think there was a point that I knew. I think I always knew. My roots have always run deep within the soils of Wallaringa… Dad left behind a great legacy so at the very least Andrew [Marlee’s fiancé] and I wanted to give it a go continuing that legacy – and I feel privileged to have the chance.”

Marlee Langfield and her fiancé Andrew Gallagher with their dog out in the paddock at Wallaringa. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria [MM149595: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2389645].

Marlee’s fiancé Andrew Gallagher at work in the paddocks. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Marlee’s drive and passion spurred her to take an active role in equipping herself as best she could for this future managing the farm. Taking the road less travelled, she chose to study agriculture by distance instead of going to University. Studying in this way for the Certificate III in Agriculture followed by a Diploma of Management allowed her to spend more time on the farm acquiring valuable practical knowledge and skills that would best prepare her for the path that lay ahead. “I completed a Certificate III in Agriculture by distance through Access Group Training in Dubbo”, Marlee recalls, “Studying by distance was a great opportunity because it allowed me to contribute to my local communities: working at the local Silos during harvest, volunteering with community groups, all while learning and working on farm.”

Marlee at work in her home office, a space where she can manage the running of the farm as well as study by distance. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria [MM149593: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2389631].

Now, as Wallaringa’s CEO, Marlee has hit the ground running. Her dedicated, can-do attitude is clear from the way that she applies her knowledge and work ethic to be directly involved in all aspects of running the farm. Having taken on the farm’s management and also pitching in with manual work, no two days are the same! Marlee is responsible for around 740 hectares of broadacre farm, producing quality grains including Wheat, Barley and Canola. On any given day, Marlee might be found balancing the farm’s accounts in her office, operating heavy agricultural equipment to sow or harvest crops, or even mixing agrochemicals to spray the paddocks – she takes each day as it comes:

“The day to day is always different. A lot of the time it starts off in the shed – you roll back the shed doors, open them up and have a look at what you’ve got on the agenda today. Lately we have been doing a lot of pre-harvest maintenance. We were cleaning out silos the other day for biosecurity purposes, so that was a very dirty but a very satisfying job at the end of it!”

Marlee finding parts in the shed at Wallaringa. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Marlee and her farm dog. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Gender, Giving Back to the Community and the CWA

Marlee also recognises the significance of being a woman - a young woman at that - and taking on a senior role in this outwardly masculine field:

“In the 2016 census women represented 28% of farmers and farm managers -only 2.8% of women are in CEO positions. Balance is important, and I think the role of women in these positions is vital for the continued development of the industry in today’s modern world. I’m enjoying experiencing the challenges and rewards my role has delivered in this short period of time. Young people may only be 20% of the population but we are 100% the future!”

Marlee in the shed at Wallaringa. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

With these aforementioned figures of gender imbalance in mind, it might be expected that Marlee, as a young woman taking on the management of a large farming enterprise like Wallaringa, would face criticism in one form or another. However, when asked how others have responded to her taking on the farm as a young female CEO, Marlee asserts that she has in fact been buoyed and supported by her local community. Encouragingly, her decision to carry on the Langfield legacy has been overwhelmingly recognised and respected. Not only has this support helped Marlee to establish herself as a farmer in her own right, but her connection with the community has also brought her closer to her own heritage, more specifically with regards to her father. Members of the community, when interacting with and supporting Marlee, have been able to share their memories of Thomas Langfield with his daughter:

“I think that connection is lovely, that these people from local businesses and my family are willing to share their stories of Dad with me, as I was quite young when Dad did pass away, I appreciate hearing the memories”.

A framed photograph of Thomas and Wendy Langfield on their wedding day, displayed in the Langfield home. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Furthermore, the support that the local community have given Marlee is by no means one-sided. Like many women across rural Australia, Marlee has learnt for herself that women are often the backbone of rural communities, and she herself has become part of this essential network. Marlee is actively involved in local life and is a member of numerous organisations, including the Red Cross, the local Agricultural Show Societies and the Morongla branch of the Country Women’s Association (CWA).

Marlee with her dog, at work in the paddock. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

This final organisation might come as a surprise to those with predetermined ideas about the CWA and its usual older demographic, and Marlee herself admits that she is the youngest member by far – which is by no means a negative! The local CWA are a constant support in the local community particularly when it comes to catering for events, however the perhaps slightly stereotypical cakes and slices are only a small fraction of what the CWA has to offer. The organisation serves as a social opportunity for its members to network, as a forum to discuss salient issues affecting the local area, and as a platform to share ideas, knowledge and thoughts with others. Guest speakers, both men and women, are also often invited to share their expertise or provide agricultural reports.

Marlee wearing a CWA apron in her family home. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

“The Morongla CWA is a wonderful, strong little group. We have a really good attendance every month… It is a very special place to go and to connect with these ladies. We meet at the Morongla Hall, which is just up the road and there is a lot of significance in the hall as well. Being the main meeting place within the community since 1918 it’s very special to be able to all congregate together and to discuss so many different issues - if only the walls could talk!”

For Marlee, the CWA has provided a way to learn from and connect with other generations of local rural women. Once again, Marlee’s family heritage comes into play as multiple generations of Langfield women have formed part of the Morongla CWA. A particularly pertinent example is Marlee’s grandmother Ivy Langfield, who was a founding member of the branch in 1951. A formidable cook, she competed in catering competitions at branch and state level, winning first place in “The Land” Cookery Competition from 1975-76 which earnt her a certificate that the family have held onto to this day. So by participating in the CWA specifically, Marlee is not only connecting with other local women, but also revitalising her connections to past generations of women in her own family. Some of these generations are distant, but others not so much – Marlee’s mother, Wendy Langfield is also a member of the CWA.

A first place CWA certificate for “The Land” Cookery Competition, won by Ivy Langfield, Marlee’s grandmother, in 1975-76. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Marlee and Wendy Langfield looking over a family photo album. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Wendy has been a mentor to her daughter as well as an unwavering source of support. She was a key figure for Marlee growing up, and played an important role in preparing her for the responsibility of taking on the management of Wallaringa. Marlee spent a lot of time watching and learning from her mother as she performed indoor work, like online banking and maintaining the accounts, which is just as vital as outdoor work when it comes to the smooth running of a farm:

“Mum’s been really helpful in regards to the paperwork side of things. Being able to sit with her and do the internet banking was a great way to learn rather than just trying to figure it out yourself. To know why to pay this bill or why to pay the tax man - to gain all of that fundamental knowledge from mum as a mentor, made it a much easier process when it came time to transition.”

Marlee and her mother, Wendy Langfield, reminiscing over family photos. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

With this in mind, the CWA is also a way for mother and daughter to bond and share their interests. Not to mention, Wendy has always encouraged Marlee to get involved in local life. Now, Marlee’s dedication to community involvement stems from her own conviction that communities are what make rural Australia what it is – in her own words: “Devote yourself to your community and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning… I believe it’s important to give back to our rural communities as they are the lifeblood of our regional areas.”

Marlee and Wendy Langfield reminiscing over a photograph of themselves from Marlee’s childhood. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

The Gap between Producer and Consumer

What’s more, Marlee’s community work extends to educating children about the realities of agricultural life. As a participant of the “Young Farming Champions” initiative, Marlee visits schools and speaks to the students about how farmers produce the food that they eat. Marlee’s efforts in this regard are helping to bridge the gap that frequently exists between consumers and the produce that sustains them. In doing so, she brings visibility to the women who work tirelessly in agriculture to bring that produce to the table, breaking the stereotype of the exclusively male farmer. Marlee is not the ‘Old McDonald’ of children’s nursery rhymes, but quite the opposite!

Marlee with the farm’s John Deere header used for harvesting crops at Wallaringa. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria [MM149608: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2389815].

Marlee showing the inside of a Canola pod. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria [MM149603: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2389770].

“[We are able to] do it in a way that they [the children] can understand and can connect with me on a basic level as to what farming is, what a farmer does, what grain growing looks like, where the grain goes and how it gets to their plate. For them to be able to make that connection, all the way through the supply chain and for then me to be able to stand in front of them, a real-life example and a young woman at that too! I think it is very grounding for them as children and I do hope it’s easier for them to be able to see where the agricultural industry can take you and the many exciting things that are happening within the industry.”

Marlee with her dog out in the paddock. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

This spreading of awareness and informing consumers about the processes behind their food includes even wider audiences through Marlee’s hobby of rural landscape and macro photography, which she shares on her Instagram (@marleelangfieldphotography). Marlee showcases her agricultural lifestyle and what it takes to grow broadacre crops with her images of the day-to-day work at the farm, capturing everything from the machinery used out in the paddocks to the farm animals that live at Wallaringa. She also shines a spotlight on the crops themselves, showing consumers even the smallest close-up details of, say, a canola pod:

“I enjoy taking macro images of crops close up and also landscapes at the farm. Just to be able to show the consumer what a Canola pod might look like or what a wheat head looks like really close up. And these products are what comes to you in the form of bread and cooking oil. So that’s definitely one way that I help bridge gaps, by taking these photos that take your eye and to be able to showcase them on social media to just simply say this is what it is.”

Marlee with her camera and a selection of her photography. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria [MM149604: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2389795].

Serving up Canola. “This image gives a real detailed look at the seeds in a canola pod and the process of them changing colour. The optimum windrowing stage for Canola is when there is 40-60% colour change in the pod -which this photo displays.” Photographer: Marlee Langfield, Instagram: @marleelangfieldphotography

Microsoft XP Screensaver. “This photograph bears an uncanny resemblance to the Microsoft XP screensaver. This image depicts some of the technologies and practices we have adopted on farm; the straight sowing lines are thanks to GPS, the canola stubble poking through the wheat are the results of direct drilling and the wheel tracks are developments to reduce compaction and build a controlled traffic system.” Photographer: Marlee Langfield, Instagram: @marleelangfieldphotography

Future Challenges

With that said, Marlee has found social media, and media in general, to be something of a double-edged sword. Farming is not an easy living, particularly when relatively unpredictable factors, such as drought, have the potential to devastate a hard-earned crop. In Marlee’s experience, the struggle of these circumstances can be exacerbated by misinformation broadcast across news channels and spread around social media. Sweeping statements concerning drought can be disheartening and understate the hard times that farmers go through in these situations:

“[The public could be] watching ‘Sunrise’ and they can officially declare the drought that morning and you think hang on a minute, it’s been happening for quite a while now! But they have just decided to shine the light on it and then maybe a month or 3 weeks down the track, they move onto something else…”

2019 Wallaringa Canola Harvest. “This is what drought looks like for us...baled canola. The landscape is not even worth capturing in colour because there is no colour left. It’s all “black and white”.” Photographer: Marlee Langfield, Instagram: @marleelangfieldphotography

For farmers, and thus for Marlee, drought is rarely a three week ordeal. It’s a reality of farming and means that tough choices with serious implications must be made – which crops to plant, when to make the order, how to provide enough water to have a successful yield, and so on. Marlee has had to learn quickly and has already made difficult decisions regarding crop management. Although drought has always been a part of the farming landscape in Cowra, it would seem that they are becoming longer, and drier:

“I do think that it [the environment] is changing and we need to be very aware of that. And to try to be proactive and to take care of the environment, because it is very precious and what we do to it now can’t or shouldn’t compromise future generations and their ability to be able to make a living from the landscape.”

Part of the Wallaringa property in 2018. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Marlee dusting down debris in the paddock. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria [MM149597: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2389740].

The interview that this blog is based on was held over a year ago in 2018, and since then Marlee has provided a recent update regarding the effect of the drought on her crops. Her response demonstrates some of the harsh actualities of making a living from agriculture, and also the perseverance required to make it work. Fortunately, the decisions made by Marlee and her team have made a difference this year, but she is conscious of the fact that not everyone has been so lucky:

“Unfortunately for us and many others the drought has not let up for the 2019 season. Again, we began the sowing program planting dry and it’s been amazing to witness how the cereal crops have managed to make it to harvest on such little rain. Andrew and I made the decision to cut all our 2019 canola crop for hay. Of course, this was not the original plan. Normally we would harvest the canola for seed but due to the significant lack of rain on the spring forecast, the tough decision had to be made. We are very lucky to have a quality product ready to sell as you don’t have to travel very far to see failed crops in bone dry paddocks.”

The sun sets on Wallaringa. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

However, despite the trials that come along with it, Marlee has a real love of farming that has spurred her on through the tough times. The agricultural lifestyle has provided her with space aplenty and a freedom rarely found in other walks of life. The landscape, while at times harsh, is also an incredible gift:

“Just the freedom that you get with the landscape… To be able to go outside or go up the paddock and to look around and you can’t see anybody else – you’re not jam packed into Central Station, in the middle of Sydney. You have your own space, and a beautiful space it is at that.”

Marlee walking through one of Wallaringa’s paddocks. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria [MM 149602, https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2389766].

The flexibility of farming – listening and responding to the needs of the land and crops as each season progresses - has meant that Marlee can invest time and effort into her community work and volunteering, time that any other career might not allow for. What’s more, Marlee does not have to face the challenges of farming alone. Recently, she became engaged to her long-time partner Andrew, who has been alongside her for both the highs and lows, and who will continue to be an enduring source of support and strength through her farming journey:

“I feel incredibly lucky to work alongside my fiancé every day. Farming is a real team effort and I knew we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all we have today without each other. We work great together – and always have.”

Marlee Langfield and Andrew Gallagher after their engagement in 2019. Photographer: Avalind Photography, https://www.avalindphotography.com.au/.

Andrew Gallagher and Marlee Langfield at Wallaringa. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

Overall, Marlee is optimistic and excited about the future of the Australian agricultural industry and those wanting to become involved in it. Giving advice to future young people, including women, who want to pursue farming, she points out that there is so much scope for innovation and change that must be pioneered by new generations:

“There’s so much potential for young people to go places. There are jobs that aren’t even created yet, that will be around in the next ten or twenty years that will be so new and exciting that no one will have ever done them before. [We need] to have young people that are keen and quite empowered for that change and to be able to discover what’s around the corner.”

Marlee at work in the paddock. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria [MM149600: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2389757].

Marlee examining Wallaringa’s wheat crop. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

As for Marlee, she has aspirations of growing her farming family in the future, whilst she continues to make a living on Wallaringa with her loved ones and give back to her local community. She is a shining example of a young, dedicated and driven woman in agriculture, who is proud to be just that.

“I’m proud to call myself a rural woman – a lady of the land! Although I might not be able to physically see it, I know I’m part of a tribe of strong women who are instrumental in the functioning of our rural communities. They are the glue that holds it all together. They go by all sorts of different titles that they use to identify themselves, and these can change maybe two, three, four or five times a day, a week or a lifetime! They are forever changing hats and always in motion. So here’s to them… may we know them, may we support them, and may we be them!”

Marlee Langfield. Photographer: Catherine Forge. Source: Museums Victoria.

A note from the author:

As part of the “Global Challenge” link that the University of Birmingham (UK) has with Museums Victoria (Melbourne, Australia), I was fortunate enough to spend 6 weeks working with the Collections team at Melbourne Museum. During this time I’ve worked with interviews from two farmers, Nan Bray of Tasmania and Marlee Langfield of New South Wales, to make them part of the Museum’s permanent collection. As an intern coming over from the UK, I have to admit that I didn’t have much of an idea about the realities of farming in Australia. I’ve very quickly learnt that farmers like Marlee work incredibly hard to provide food and other produce for our communities, but also how much something like drought tests their mettle. Each of these farming women have their own unique story to share and I’ve been very lucky to engage with them. I wish Marlee and her fiancé Andrew all the best as they move into the future and I want to thank Marlee for all of her help and insight in the writing of this blog. I’d also like to thank the Careers Network at the University of Birmingham and the team at Museums Victoria, particularly Catherine Forge, for this opportunity and the support that they have provided. Finally, I’d like to thank the farming communities, such as Marlee’s community in Central West NSW, for their hard work on the land.

Further Info:

This interview is now a permanent part of Museums Victoria’s collections, and you can view it online, here: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2391633